


Earrings

by Sheffield



Series: Dark!Gregor [10]
Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-24 08:02:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/937554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheffield/pseuds/Sheffield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bel Thorne, disreputable unemployed space pilot, at your service</p>
            </blockquote>





	Earrings

Rolling tourists might be fun but it wasn’t sporting, not in Bel Thorne’s view anyway. So when the third offworlder in a row strolled past with THOSE earrings Bel couldn’t let it go again, put out a strong arm and manhandled the tourist girl into a seat on the promenade.

The girl wasn’t a screamer, fortunately - opened her mouth as if to give cry, but then calmed down, took a breath and then...

“Honourable Herm,” she said calmly. Oooh, feisty AND with a brain, just the way Bel liked them.

“Bel Thorne, disreputable unemployed space pilot, at your service. And you must be... newly arrived from... I knew it. Barrayar.”

“Angelika Dudakis,” she said boldly. “And why is a disreputable unemployed space pilot accosting Barrayarans in the Betan Spaceport Promenade, please?”  
“Let me guess. You’re newly arrived, right? You read up on the culture on board ship, so you knew enough that your first purchase was a pair of suitable earrings. And you bought them from a street vendor who showed you the codings, all right and proper, on a hand-reader, right?”  
“Oh no...” Bright, too. Her hands went to her ears immediately and she covered up the loud (and completely false, unless this little Barrayaran virgin had the kind of experience you’d expect from the most expensive whore in Baron Ryoval’s stable) jewels.  
“Try a public comconsole,” he suggested.  
“Stay right there!”

Wisely, now, she didn’t go to the nearest booth (although Bel could, in fact, think of several ways to bugger up the readings on the third comconsole to the left, just next to the little flower stall) but walked a few yards off. And checked the codings for Betan earrings. And then ripped hers from her ears as if they were on fire.

When she stalked back to the table her face was flame red but her back was straight.

“Rookie mistake,” she said ruefully. “My thanks... Bel.”  
“It was a pleasure... Angelika. If you feel you need earrings, try Jaismith’s, over that way. I could walk you if you like.”  
“No thanks. I need to do a LOT more reading before I pick another pair, thanks. No earrings denotes ‘rude tourist who can’t be bothered to learn native customs - do not touch’, right?”  
Bel’s lip twitched slightly. “Something like that. Most people won’t bother you. Although I should warn you there are people who hang around at the spaceport and collect spacevirgins.”  
“Are there indeed, honourable herm? Well, perhaps I should let you walk me back to my hotel just to make sure I don’t encounter any.”

Bravo, Bel thought. If ImpSec wanted this one, they were going to have to give some MUCH better reasons.


End file.
